Email & webmail
Run your own self-hosted mail server and a webmail app with Openship — provision it, manage domains and mailboxes, and put an inbox in the browser.
Most people rent their email from someone else — Gmail, Outlook, and the like. Openship lets you run the whole post office yourself: a real mail server on your own machine, with your own domain, that sends and receives mail and even gives you a webmail inbox in the browser. Think of it as the difference between renting a PO box and owning the building.
You're not limited to one, either. Each mail server runs on its own host (one mail setup per server), and Openship keeps them all in a single Mail servers list — provision as many as you like and switch between them from one place. A lone server opens straight into its admin panel; once you have more than one, you land on the list first.
This is a big, hands-on feature, so this guide stays at the map level: what each screen does and the order you go through them. The fiddly bits — the exact DNS records and the reverse-DNS setup — are called out where they happen, because the wizard walks you through those live.
Self-hosted only
Email lives entirely in self-hosted Openship. The Emails item only appears in the sidebar when you're running Openship on your own infrastructure — it isn't part of the managed cloud. If you don't see it, you're on a hosted plan. See Installation to self-host.
What you need first
- Openship running self-hosted, with at least one connected server (a clean Ubuntu or Debian machine is recommended). See Connect your own server if you don't have one yet.
- A domain name you control, where you can edit DNS records.
- Port 25 open for outbound mail — some hosting providers block it by default, so check before you start.
- Access to your VPS provider's panel (for the reverse-DNS step near the end).
A few words you'll see a lot:
- Mail server — the software that actually sends and receives email. Openship installs a well-known stack (Postfix, Dovecot, and anti-spam tools) for you.
- Mailbox — one email account, like
you@yourdomain.com, with its own password and inbox. - DNS records — public settings for your domain that tell the rest of the internet where your mail lives.
- Webmail — an email app you open in a browser, so you don't need to configure a separate mail app.
Step 1 — Provision a mail server
Open the Emails page
In the sidebar, click Emails. With no mail server set up yet, you land straight on the Mail Server Setup form. If you already run several mail servers, you'll see a list of them first — click Add mail server to start another. (With a single existing server, Openship opens it straight to its admin panel; use the Add mail server button there to set up another.)
Screenshot
Pick a server and a domain
Choose which of your connected servers the mail stack should run on. If you only have one, Openship picks it for you.
Then fill in two things:
- Domain — your bare domain, like
example.com(nohttps://, no path). Openship shows you that your mail server will live atmail.example.com. - Admin Password — the password for the first mailbox,
postmaster@yourdomain. You'll use it to log in after setup. Don't want to think one up? Click Generate for a strong random one, then copy it somewhere safe.
The right-hand panel lists exactly what gets installed — the mail stack, an automatic Let's Encrypt SSL certificate, the DNS records you'll need, and the admin panel — plus the prerequisites (a domain with DNS access, port 25 open, a clean server).
Press Start Setup and watch it run
Click Start Setup. Openship connects to your server and works through the install one step at a time (system update, mail stack, SSL, and so on), streaming the logs live — like watching the oven through the glass door. You don't have to do anything while it runs.
Partway through, it pauses twice to wait for you. Those two pauses are the next two steps.
Publish your DNS records
The install stops and shows a banner: Publish DNS records before continuing. Below it are cards — one per record (things like MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) — each with a Copy value button.
Go to wherever your domain's DNS is managed, add each record, and come back. Then click **I've set the records
- continue**.
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Why this matters
Email delivery breaks without these records — they're how Gmail and Outlook decide your mail is real and not spam. If you host DNS at a supported provider, the banner also offers Auto-configure DNS, which pushes the records for you. Otherwise, copy them in by hand. For a gentler intro to DNS, see Custom domains.
Set reverse DNS (PTR)
Next comes a second banner: Set reverse DNS (PTR) before continuing. This one is different — you set it at your VPS provider's panel (Hostinger, DigitalOcean, AWS, and so on), not at your DNS provider.
The banner shows your server's IP address and the value to point it at (mail.yourdomain). Set it there, wait
a few minutes for it to take effect, then click I've set the PTRs - continue.
Screenshot
mail.<domain> value, and the "I've set the PTRs - continue" button. (screenshot pending)Reverse DNS in one line
Normal DNS turns a name into an IP address; reverse DNS (a PTR record) turns the IP back into a name. Big mail providers reject mail from servers whose reverse DNS doesn't match — so this step is not optional.
Done
Openship finishes the SSL step and the page flips to the admin panel. Your mail server is live. It also offers to send a quick welcome test email so you can confirm mail is flowing.
Already have a mail server from Openship?
If you set one up before and Openship lost track of it (for example, you moved to a new computer), you don't have to reinstall. On the setup form, click Already have a mail server? Adopt it, pick the server, and click Scan server. If a mail stack is found, click Adopt — it's brought back into the dashboard with your mailboxes and data left untouched.
Step 2 — Manage domains and mailboxes
Once a server is provisioned, the Emails page becomes its admin panel — your home base for running the mail server. It's organized into tabs:
- Overview — the hostname, the webmail button, mail stats (domains, mailboxes, storage), and quick links.
- Domains — add extra domains you want to receive mail for. A new domain accepts mail once its MX record points at this server.
- Mailboxes — create email accounts under a domain. Each one is a login (
name@domain) with its own password and quota. This is also where you change thepostmasterpassword later. - DNS — a reference copy of every record each domain needs, with a Verify button that checks whether they're actually published.
- Health — live status of each mail process, refreshed automatically.
- Test — send a real test email to confirm delivery.
- Backup — snapshot the mail server (accounts, messages, keys) to one of your backup destinations.
- Advanced — the IMAP/SMTP connection settings for wiring up a mail app by hand, plus power-user actions like restarting the stack or re-running the wizard.
Screenshot
Adding a second domain
When you add a domain under the Domains tab, Openship generates its DNS records (including a fresh DKIM key). Publish those at your DNS provider — the DNS tab shows them and can verify them — before you rely on that domain for mail.
Step 3 — Deploy the webmail app
A mail server on its own has no web page — you'd point a mail app at it. Openship can also deploy Zero, a webmail app, so you (and your users) get an inbox in the browser instead.
Start from the Overview tab
On the admin panel's Overview tab, find the mail server card and click Deploy webmail. This opens the Deploy webmail screen.
Choose where it runs and at which address
Two choices:
- Deploy to — where the webmail app should run. You can put it on this mail server, on another one of your servers, or (where offered) on the managed Opshcloud option.
- Domain — the web address people will open to reach the inbox. It defaults to
mail.yourdomain. Whatever you pick, its DNS must point at the deploy target — the on-screen hint tells you what's expected for the option you chose.
The summary panel on the right restates your target and domain.
Screenshot
Press Deploy webmail
Click Deploy webmail. Openship creates a project and a deployment for you and drops you on the standard build screen, which streams the logs live — the same screen you'd see deploying any app. When it's done, the Overview card's button changes to Open webmail, which opens your inbox in a new tab.
Prefer the terminal?
The provisioning flow works from the CLI too (webmail deploy is dashboard-only for now). Every mail command
is self-hosted only.
# Start the install on a server for your domain (streams live)
openship mail setup <serverId> --domain example.com
# When it pauses for DNS: publish the records, then acknowledge and resume
openship mail dns-ack <serverId>
openship mail setup <serverId> --domain example.com --start-step <n>
# When it pauses for reverse DNS: set the PTR, then acknowledge and resume
openship mail ptr-ack <serverId>
openship mail setup <serverId> --domain example.com --start-step <n>
# Check where things stand at any time
openship mail status <serverId>
# Re-adopt an existing install (after losing the dashboard's record of it)
openship mail scan <serverId>
openship mail adopt <serverId>Tip
When the install pauses, the CLI prints the exact --start-step number to resume from. Copy it into the next
mail setup command and it picks up right where it left off.
If something goes wrong
I don't see an “Emails” item in the sidebar
Email is self-hosted only. It appears when Openship is running on your own infrastructure. On a managed/cloud plan it's hidden on purpose.
The “Check Port 25” step warns that port 25 is blocked
This step is a check, not a wall — the install keeps going even when it warns. But outbound mail won't actually send until port 25 is open. Many hosting providers block it by default (some need a support request to open it). Ask your provider to open it, then use the Test tab to confirm mail flows once setup has finished.
Mail sends but lands in spam
This is normal for a brand-new domain — providers are cautious for the first day or two. Make sure your DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and your reverse DNS (PTR) are all published and verified: use the DNS tab's Verify button and the Health tab. Marking early test messages as "not spam" speeds things up.
A record won't verify
DNS changes can take a few minutes (sometimes longer) to spread. Give it time, then re-check on the DNS tab. Double-check you pasted the value exactly and added it to the right domain.
What next?
Teams & members
Invite other people into your Openship workspace, give them the right role, and understand the difference between your personal space and a shared team.
Connect to Cloud & migrate
Link the copy of Openship you run yourself to Openship Cloud, move a single project up or bring it home, and (at a high level) open your instance up to a whole team.